Katrina Lewis, Editorial Intern - Boston Business Journal

Google's charitable arm announced yesterday that it has donated part of a $500,000 gift to support STEM programming education for middle school students in high-need Boston public school districts.

The tech giant donated the money to Citizen Schools, a Boston-based nonprofit that partners with public schools to provide academic opportunities in underserved communities. With the new donation, Google.org has given over $4.5 million of support to Citizen Schools.

Citizen Schools launched in Boston in 1996, and Google first partnered with the nonprofit in 2006. Since then, 153 Google employees have donated 6,120 volunteer hours in Greater Boston to directly impact the lives of 868 students, according to a statement.

"I have personally witnessed the impact volunteering has had, not only on the students we've been honored to serve through Citizen Schools, but also on Google employees here in Cambridge," Liz Schwab, Google’s head of external affairs for New England and Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "Our employees are extremely dedicated to the program, and I'm excited to be able to continue this partnership."

For Massachusetts schools, the new investment will support apprenticeships in Android app design and Lego robotics and web design, according to a statement. Google employee-volunteers will also continue to serve the area by teaching students about robotics, video game programming and mobile app development and design, and this funding will help Citizen Schools bring similar apprenticeships to more students.

“As a pioneer in Ed Tech, Google is making it possible for students to imagine themselves as tomorrow’s engineers, computer programmers and thought leaders,” Citizen Schools CEO Emily McCann said in a statement. “We share their vision and thank them for providing financial support as well as volunteers who add tremendous value to our classrooms.”

Citizen Schools assists eight middle schools in Greater Boston, including middle schools in Somerville, Dorchester, Roxbury, Chelsea, Charlestown and Salem.